It is necessary for such baskets to meet the following conditions of use:
1. The provision of foldable side walls permitting the stacking of at least two baskets when they are unfolded and also when they are folded. PA1 2. The provision of at least one door. PA1 3. Complete clearance of said door without its removal (to avoid its loss). PA1 4. The door must be sufficiently large to enable removal of the goods by the customers. PA1 5. The baskets must be able to be transported by conventional lift trucks with standard forks. PA1 6. Absolute security of stacking. PA1 A further door should be provided along the small side of the basket, PA1 In the case of combining small baskets with big baskets, the small side of a small basket should be at the most equal to one-half of the width of a large basket to allow two small baskets to be placed upon a large basket, said width being standardized, PA1 The fork of a lift truck, which is of standard width, should engage a small side of the basket as the small side is the open side of the basket when in the market, PA1 In a truck or a railway car, when the height is comparatively small, a maximum number of baskets should be stacked and therefore it is necessary to reduce their total height; however a maximum open access is also necessary to allow the goods to be easily removed by the customers. PA1 two baskets can be stacked in folded and in unfolded position, PA1 doors can be provided on all sides, PA1 at least one door can be as wide as the wall and can be inserted under the base, PA1 the height of stacked baskets is less than the sum of the feet and walls.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,328 there is described a basket of generally knwon type but which has no door. Moreover, the basket lacks a hollow base into which the walls can be nested.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,163 describes a basket which has a hollow base and foldable walls but, in folded position, the feet of the upper basket are to be placed on the edges of the base (and not on special supports). In this way, it cannot be ensured that the upper basket will not slip along the edges.
U.S. Pat. NO. 2,666,552 describes a basket which has no hollow base and no means to permit stacking of two baskets in folded position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,593 meets all of the six above conditions. However, additional conditions which have to be met are:
An object of the invention is to provide a basket which satisfies both the original and additional conditions.
A further object of the invention is to provide a basket in which doors are provided in the walls and these doors are inserted, after opening, under the base.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,593 the doors cannot be wider than the distance betwen two feet.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,163 no door exists. The panels can be folded into the base but not outside of the basket and, then, under the base.
Another object of the invention is to provide a basket whose feet can be high enough to permit the fork of a lift truck to be inserted under the base in order to lift and carry the basket when unfolded and full of merchandise. However, when two or more baskets are stacked, the space between the top of the lower basket and the bottom of the upper basket must be as small as possible, in order, for example, to be able to place more baskets in a truck or car of limited height.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,660,328 and 3,627,163 the height of the two stacked baskets comprises the sum of the feet (twice) and the panels (twice).
Another object of the present invention is to provide a basket whose construction is such that the height of two stacked baskets comprises the sum of the feet (once), walls (twice) and only the space between the top of the supports and the bottom of the upper basket. The basket of the present invention provides more or less high supports on a given wall.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a basket having the following capabilities: